Sleeve closure



March 20, 1951 BOD|N ET AL 2,546,057

SLEEVE CLOSURE Filed Nov. 24, 1.948

grace 77. Bodin Helene C". Seid/ ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 20, 1951 SLEEVECLOSURE Grace A. Bodin and Helene C. Seidl, St. Paul, Minn.

Application November 24, 1948, Serial No. 61,764

4 Claims.

vide a garment for containing an infant which permits freedom ofmovement and still encloses the infant effectively at all times. Thegarment is so constructed that it is virtually impossible for the infantto become uncovered accidentally.

A feature of the present invention lies in the provision of a garmenthaving sleeves which may be open at their outer ends or may be closed toentirely enclose the hands of the infant. Thus the garment may be wornduring the play time of the infant, during which time the hands may beexposed for handling toys and other objects, or may be worn during thesleeping periods at which time it may be desirable to enclose the handsof the infant, By closing the ends of the sleeves the infant isprevented from scratching himself or sucking his thumb.

A feature of the present invention lies in the provision of a garmentformed with cuffs which extend. over the outer surface of one side onlyof the sleeves. These cuffs are formed by doubling back one side of thesleeve and securing the doubled back portion to the sleeve along itsends. The cuff thus formed may be inverted to act as a pocket containingthe end of the sleeve and by thus folding the cuff the end of the sleeveis effectively closed. 1

A feature of the present invention lies inthe provision of a cufi at theend of each sleeve which is preferably formed in two halves. The portionof the cuff on one side of the sleeve is folded back upon itself tooverlie the outer surface of the sleeve and is secured at its ends tothe sleeve. The other portion of the cuff is folded back upon itself tolie inwardly of the sleeve and is likewise secured at its ends to thebody of the sleeve. This second part of the cuff serves as an innerpicket when the first portion of the cuff is folded to close the sleeveend. This produces in effect a double pocket for closing the sleeveends.

An added feature of the present invention lies in the provision of aremovable pad, preferably of water-proof material, which may overlie therear panel of the garment to prevent the garment from becoming moist.This pad is preferably of material which tends to remain flat andtherefore will not bunch up beneath the infant. The pad is so secured tothe garment that it may be easly removed and replaced or may be reversedif desired. i

An added feature of the present invention lies in the manner in whichthe garment is held closed. The front of the garment comprises twopanels which are designed to overlap, each panel being of sufficientwidth to extend entirely across the front of the infant. Each frontpanel is provided near its upper extremity with a loop or tie which isdesigned to extend through a slot in the garment between the rear paneland the other forward panel. Thus either of the front panels may befirst folded over the body of the infant and the loop or tie of thisfirst panel may be inserted through the slot in the opposite side of thegarment in position for tying after the garment is closed. The loop ortie on the innermost panel extends through the slot in the other side ofthe garment and is engageable with a strap or tie on the exterior of thegarment.

The loop or tie on the outermost panel is en- 7 gageable with a similartie or strap on the exterior of the garment at the other side of theinfant. These overlapping panels when tied as described form aneffective covering for the infant.

An added feature of the present invention lies in the provision of apanel foldably connected to the back panel or forming an extensionthereof along the lower edge of the garment. This panel is foldable overthe overlapping front panels of the garment and is engageable with thesame exterior ties or straps used for holding the overlapping frontpanels in closed position. When this panel is folded over theoverlapping panel a closure is provided for the lower end of the garmentwhich is easily secured in place and yet which prevents the infant frombecoming uncovered.

A feature of the present invention lies in the fact that if desired, theextension panel at the lower end of the garment may, if desired, befolded back upon the rear panel of the garment to permit the infant toexercise and kick. The back of the garment is flat and does not becomeeasily bunched beneath the infant to cause discomfort thereto.

Another feature of the present invention lies in the provision of agarment which may readily enclose the infant during sleeping periods andwhich may cover the major portion of the body of the infant even whilethe infant is being changed. The overlapping front panels of the garmentcover the chest of the infant at all times when overlapped, but thelower corners of the frontpanels may be folded back to expose the lowerportion of the body.

An added feature of the present invention lies in the fact that ourgarment encloses the child effectively without any tapes, straps, orties at the neck of the garment. This feature is of importance, as iteliminates the danger of strangulation of the infant and as there are nostraps or ties near the face of the infant which can be placed in themouth of the infant.

These and other objects and novel feature of our invention will be moreclearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of our specification:

Figure l is a diagrammatic plan view of the garment in folded conditionshowing the arrangement of the parts thereof.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the garment in open position showingthe location of the various elements and the means used for holding thevarious parts together.

Figure 3 is a plan view of a sleeve end showing a part of the cuffconstruction.

Figure 4 is a sectional view through the sleeve showing the double culfarrangement thereof when the sleeve ends are open.

Figure 5 is a View similar to Figure 4 showing the sleeve ends in closedposition.

Figure 6 is a sectional view transversely through the cuff, the positionof the section being indicated by the line 6-6 of Figure 3.

The garment A includes a back panel II) which is connected along sideseams l and I2 to front panels I3 and M respectively. The rear panel Inis formed to provide a neck portion l5 and the front panels l3 and i iare tapered along their upper edges as indicated at It and llrespectively to provide a V-shaped neck opening in the front of thegarment when the panels are overlapped.

The front panels i3 and I4 extend the full width of the garment and areprovided with side edges 19 and 2|! respectively which are designed toextend along the seams H and I2 in closed position of the garment. Thusthe edge 2!} of the panel M is designed to lie along the seam lconnecting the rear panel ID to the front panel |3 in closed position ofthe garment. when in overlapping position the edge 59 of the front panelI3 is designed to extend along the seam [2 connecting the panel ii) tothe front panel I4. Either of the front panels may be first folded overthe infant, the garment being so constructed that the closing operationis similar regardless of which front panel is first folded.

A loop 2| of cloth, tape, or other suitable tying material is secured tothe front panel i3 at the juncture between the tapered upper panel edgel6 and the longitudinal panel edge l9. This loop 2| is positioned toextend through a slot 22 in the garment A adjacent the seam l2connecting the rear panel It to the front panel I4. The slot 22 ispreferably reinforced with tape or other means so that the garment willnot readily rip adjacent this slot.

A loop 23 similar to the loop 2| is secured to the front panel M at thejuncture between the tapered uper edge if and the longitudinal paneledge 20. This loop 23 is positioned to extend through a slot 24 in thegarment adjacent the seam connecting the panel Hi to the front panel i3.This slot 24 is similar to the slot 22 and in opposed relation thereto,the garment being suitably reinforced adjacent the slot. Only one of theslots 22 or 24 is used at a time, the loop 2| being inserted through theslot 22 when the panel I3 is first folded over the infant as indicatedin Figure 1 of the drawings. In the event the front Similarly 4 panel I4 is first folded over the infant the loop 23 on this panel is insertedthrough the slot 24.

A strap or tie 25 is stitched or otherwise secured to the garment alongthe seam H on the inner surface of the garment. This tie 25 is designedfor cooperation with a tie or strap 26 secured to one corner of a fiatrectangular pad 21. The straps 25 and 26 may be tied together to holdthe pad 21 in proper position beneath the infant.

A strap 29 is stitched or otherwise secured at one end along the seam |2connecting the rear panel In to the front panel M. This strap or tie 29is cooperable with a strap or tie 3|] secured to a corner of the pad 21opposite the corner to which the strap 26 is secured. The ties 29 and 33may be knotted together to further assist in holding the pad 21 in itsproper location.

A panel 3| is secured to the lower edge of the rear panel It or forms'anextension thereof extending beyond the lower edges of the panels l3 andM. The panel 3| is provided at its extremity with opositely directedties or straps 32 and 33, which like the other ties or straps mentioned,may be formed of cloth, tape or other suitable material. The panel 3| isdesigned to fold upwardly and over the overlapping front panels I3 and ii in closed position of the garment to form a bottom closure and toassist in holding the panels l3 and I4 overlapped. When the panel 3| issecured in place as illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings it isextremely difficult for the infant to become uncovered.

A strap or tie 34 is secured to the exterior surface of the garmentalong the seam ll adjacent the slot 24. A similar strap or tie 35 issecured to the outer surface of the garment along the seam l2. Theseties are cooperable with the ties 32 and 33 and with the loops 2| and 23to hold the garment closed. If the front panel l3 forms the first foldedpanel of the garment the loop 2| on this panel is inserted through theslot 22 and is therefore accessible from the outside of the garment.Here the strap 33 or the strap 35 are inserted through the loop 2| andthe two straps 33 and 35 are tied together so as to hold the garment inclosed position. In this event, either the strap 32 or the strap 34 isinserted through the loop 23 of the outer panel l4 and the two straps 32and 3d are tied together so as to hold. the garment closed.

If the garment is folded in the opposite manner and the panel I4 isinnermost, the loop 23 is inserted through the slot 24 and secured bythe straps 32 and 34. The loop 2| of the outer panel I6 is held in placeby the insertion of either the strap 33 r the strap 35 therethrough andby tying these two straps. It will be seen that if the legs of theinfant are to be exposed during exercise periods the panel 3| may befolded beneath the rear panel i0 and tied in the manner de-. scribedabove. When thus engaged the rear panel is of double thickness and thegarment has much of the appearance of a gown or robe of usual design. Itwould also be seen that the panel 3| may be folded downwardlytemporarily, thus exposing the lower part of the infant so the diapersof the infant may be easily changed.

The cuff or sleeve construction of the garment A forms an important partof the present inven-' tion. The sleeves 3e and 37 are of any desiredtype and may be secured to the front and rear panels in any preferredmanner. The sleeves 36 and 31 are tubular in form and may be formedeither by two strips of material attached together along the edges ormay be formed by foldinga single strip end securing the adjacent edgestogether.

In order to best describe the sleeve construc tion it will be noted thatin preferred form the sleeves are either formed of two pieces securedtogether along opposite edges or, as in the pres ent case, the ends ofthe sleeve are slit longitudinally for a distance from the sleeve end toform opposite seams along the edges 39 and 40. Thus the end of thesleeve is separated into two sleeve sides which are designated inFigures 4 and 5 of the drawings by the numerals 4i and 42. The end ofthe sleeve portion 4! is folded back upon itself at 43 to form a cuffportion 44 overlying the outer surface of the sleeve portion 4ithroughout its width. The free edge of the cuff 44 is bound or taped asindicated at 45 to provide a finished edge. As shown in Figure 6 of thedrawings the marginal edges of the sleeve body 4! and the cuif portion44 are anchored to the opposite side 42 of the sleeve. The edges of thesleeve portion 4! are designated by the numeral 45 while the edges ofthe cuff 44 are designated by the numeral 46.

The sleeve side 42 has its end portion fo ded back upon itself at 47 toform an inner cuff 49. This inner cuif 49 is provided with a bound edge50 which is not secured transversely to the sleeve portion 42. The sideedges of the sleeve portion 42 are indicated in Figure 6 by the numeral5! and the side edges of the cuff 49 are designated by the numeral 52.The edges 45, 43, Si, and 52 are connected together by stitching 53 soas to bind the side edges of the sleeve parts together and also toanchor the side edges of the cuffs to the sleeves.

When the ends of the sleeves 36 and 31 are to be opened the cuff 49 liesinwardly of the sleeve and the cuff portion 44 lies along the outersurface thereof, providing an attractive appearance. The inner cuff 49lies close against the sleeve side 42 and does not interfere with thehands of the infant.

When it is desired to close the ends of the sleeves, the pockets formedbetween the cuffs 44 and the sleeve portions 4! are turned inside out.This operation can be easily accom lished by inserting the hand betweenthe cuff 44 and the adjacent part of the sleeve and merely forcing thebottom of the pocket through the space between the bound edge 45 and thesleeve portion 4|. This action causes the end of the sleeve to beengaged in the pocket formed by the cuff 44. The end of the sleeve isthus effectively closed. The engagement of the cuff 44 outwardly of theside 42 of the sleeve also tends to urge the cuff 49 toward the side 4|of the sleeve, thereby forming a ,double pocket which forms an effectivesleeve closure. The operation of inverting the cuffs 44 is extremelsimple and the closure thus formed is unusually effective. The sleevesare of sufiicient length to comfortably enclose the hands of the infantwhen the cuffs are in closed position.

It will be noted that the garment thus formed is eifective in coveringthe child and preventing the legs and body of the child from becomingeX- posed. It is also noted that the garment is safe to wear and that nosafety pins or other clasps are necessary to effectively hold thegarment closed. At the same time the garment may be easily and quicklyopened to allow the infant to exercise or to be changed. The sleeves ofthe garment may be quickly folded from open position to closed position.As a result while our garment is extremely simple in form, it isunusually effective for its purpose.

In accordance with the patent statutes, we have described the principlesof construction and operation of our infants garment and while we haveendeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, we desire to haveit understood that this is only illustrative thereof, and that obviouschanges may be made within the scope of the following claims withoutdeparting from the spirit of our invention.

We claim:

1. An infants garment including garment sleeves, said sleeves having acuif foldably connected to the sleeve end and folded back to overlie oneside of the sleeve, the side edges of the cuff being secured to thesleeve, said cuff forming a pocket between the sleeve and the cuff onone side only of the sleeve, said cuff enclosing the end of the sleevewhen inverted.

2. The structure described in claim 1 and including an inner cuifsimilar to the previously described cuff, but overlying a portion of theinner surface of the sleeve adjacent the end thereof.

3. An infants garment sleeve including a pair of sleeve sides, one seeve side being folded back upon itself at the end of the sleeve tooverlie a portion of the exterior surface of said one sleeve side andsecured to the sleeve side along opposite edges thereof to form anexterior pocket between said one sleeve side and the cuff, an inner cuffformed on the other sleeve side and includin a body portion foldablyconnected to said other sleeve side and overlying a portion of the innersurface of the sleeve adjacent the end thereof and secured to said othersleeve side along opposite side edges to form an interior pocket withinthe sleeve between said inner cuif and said other sleeve side, saidfirst named pocket being arranged to close the end of the sleeve byturning the same inside out.

4. A sleeve for an infants garment including a pair of sleeve sides, onesleeve side being folded back upon itself to form a first cuff lyingexteriorly of the s eeve surface, the other sleeve side being foldedback upon itself to form a second cuff overlying a portion of the innersleeve surface, means connecting the edges of the sleeve sides and theedges of the cuffs together along side seams between the sleeve sides,the first cuff forming an exterior pocket which may close the end of thesleeve when turned inside out and the second cuff forming an interiorpocket within the sleeve.

GRACE A. BODIN. HELENE C. SEIDL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 881,640 Wimmel Q. Mar. 10, 19081,092,047 Hertz Mar. 31, 1914 1,373,378 Backmann Mar. 29, 1921 1,403,030Janzow Jan. 10, 1922 2,315,352 Schuyler Mar. 30, 1943

